Shore Conference Baseball: Judgment Day

Three marquee matchups with division ramifications dominate the slate today/tonight...

Barnegat at Central Regional, Leiter Field, Bayville 7 p.m.

Identical 8-1 records make this B South showdown critical to the race for the crown. Barnegat (11-3) absorbed its first B South loss at the hands of Point Pleasant Boro on Saturday. Its offense takes cues from senior Brian Calabria, who could also be among a handful of candidates to get the start on the mound.

Central (9-3) has enjoyed a bounce-back season under first-year coach John Scran. After going 4-15-1 a year ago, the Bayville school is among the leaders for Comeback Program of the Year at the Shore. Joe Rusk (4-0) and Evan Beattie (3-2) head a strong pitching staff while Mike Fay and Shawn Kessler key the offense.

Christian Brothers at Colts Neck, 3:45

Round Two will have a tough time duplicating the pitching duel put forth by CBA's Pat Light and Colts Neck's Anthony DeSclafani when the two met back on April 14, a game Light claimed with a 2-0 shutout. With DeSclafani tossing a complete game yesterday in an 8-1 decision over Freehold Township, CBA will see a different arm on the hill this time around. Ethan Jackson went the distance in Friday's 6-3 setback to Cranford in the Shore Challenge and Chris Coutros scored a victory over Raritan on Saturday, leaving junior righty Chris Leroy as perhaps the freshest arm in the rotation.

Colts Neck won't have as much mystery to deal with in terms of who will be dealing for CBA. Junior right-hander Pat Light is expected to get the ball with a chance to run his mark to 5-0.

Toms River South at Jackson, 3:45

Toms River South is the last team to hand Jackson a loss and looks to cool off one of the hottest teams in the state.

Drew Holt pinned a 5-0 shutout on Jackson back on April 14 when he neutralized a dangerous batting order with a three-hitter. The TRS lineup offers potential pitfalls wherever you look with Ryan Kapp, Chase Gray, Tyler Gebler and Jake DelVento posing major concerns.

Junior Kevin Needham took the loss that day for Jackson, arguably the last time the right-hander has dealt with any type of adversity on the field. Needham, whose crisp left-handed bat is in the midst of a 19-for-28 tear, will more than likely be on the mound today for the first time since registering a 5-2 victory one week ago against previously-unbeaten Toms River North. He's gone 2-0 during the current eight-game winning streak.

And you can't really pitch around Needham when you consider how well both Edgar Jennings and Brian Soloman are seeing - and driving - the ball.